The ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) has announced that its flagship tournament, the AFF Suzuki Cup – which was originally scheduled for November 2020, has been postponed to December 2021.
The event was supposed to have been held in November 2020, and had then been scheduled for April 2021.
In a statement, the AFF said that the “decision reflects the continued priority of AFF which is the health and safety of everyone, and has also been made to provide greater certainty to all of the event’s stakeholders, including the AFF Member Associations, teams, players and officials, commercial partners and fans.”
AFF President, Major General Khiev Sameth, said, “As always, our first priority is the health and safety of everyone connected with the event. As such, we have been monitoring Covid-19 developments, both within ASEAN and in the wider world, on a continuous basis.
“While there have been encouraging results in vaccine development, we are cognisant that the process of vaccine approval, as well as the practicalities of the distribution and implementation of vaccine programmes across the world including ASEAN will take some time.”
“Given the complexities around the organisation of the event, and the many people and organisations that are impacted by it, the AFF believes in taking a pragmatic approach and making a considered decision early that will allow the stakeholders in the event to have enough notice to reorganise their activities – and so that planning for the end of the year can be focused around the AFF Suzuki Cup as a great occasion for football in the region as it has always been.” Major General Sameth said.
The new pencilled in dates for the postponed tournament will are from 5 December to 1 January 2022.
Originally re-scheduled to take place during April-May next year, the AFF Suzuki Cup is the largest and most prestigious football tournament in South East Asia and is set to see the national ‘A’ teams of the region competing for the Championship title.
The AFF will continue to work closely with the various Member Associations and partners to provide further updates on the 2021 tournament as soon they are available.
Photo: AFF Suzuki Cup